Printing Industry Performance and Insights

The Printing Industry Performance and Insights (PIPI) studies provide company leaders with knowledge, tools, and actionable recommendations based on survey data collected from print companies from around the country. PIAG is among fifteen state and regional printing associations that partner with Dr. Ralph Williams, Associate Professor of Management at Middle Tennessee State University to conduct the studies.

Studies are conducted twice per year. The spring survey focuses on financial benchmarking while the fall survey focuses on the industry outlook plus a management topic (supply chain, branding, etc.).

Financial Benchmarks

• May 2024 - Financial Benchmarking Findings – Paths to Improving Your Printing Company
  • This report provides financial benchmarks in three areas: income statement/value add, balance sheet ratios, and cash management ratios. It also provides information about a plethora of other topics: employees per $1m in revenue, how printing company leaders analyze financials, 2024-Q1 revenue and performance perceptions, application of new GAAP lease rules, accounting suggestions, percentage of revenue lost to spoilage, and recycling payments.
• March 2023 - Financial Benchmarks & Ratios

Industry Outlook & Management

• October 2023 - Survey Results: A Big Picture of Revenue Trends, Business Outlook, Other Knowledge, and Actionable Thoughts
  • This report helps printing company leaders see the big picture of our industry, including insights related to revenue, business outlook, customers purchasing more or less printed products, and customer turnover. The study includes thoughts on how to address this environment proactively. As comparison tools, we provide averages for employees per $1mm in revenue and cash reserve information from across our industry.
• October 2023 - Survey Results: A Big Picture of Inflation, Paper Supply, and Postal Mail Rates with Actionable Thoughts
  • Factors from outside our industry can affect firm performance. In strategic planning, stepping back and seeing the external environment from a big-picture view is essential. In this report, we provide insights as to how our industry is affected by external factors, such as inflation, paper supply, and postal mail rates. The study concludes with printing firm leaders’ thoughts about a potential recession. Actionable thoughts are shared throughout.
• October 2023 - Employer Branding: Branding Your Firm as a Good Place to Work
  • Recruiting and hiring is a challenge for printing industry firms. However, we found that some printing firm leaders are satisfied with their hiring and recruiting. From our October 2023 “Printing Industry Performance & Insights” study, it appears effective recruiting and hiring is connected to two key concepts: an Employee Value Proposition (EVP) and Employer Branding. We explain EVP and Employer Branding and provide a model illustrating our findings. This report closes with survey participants' responses to open-ended questions about their employer branding approaches.
• October 2022 - Connecting a Comprehensive Strategic Approach to Printing Firm Performance
• October 2022 - How Paper is Affecting Printing Companies & Approaches to Consider
• October 2022 - Survey Results:  Revenue Trends, Inflation Effects, Business Outlook
• April 2022 - Survey Results: Marketing, Sales, and Social Media Report
• April 2022 - Survey Results: Revenue Growth Report